Equipment
Bridgestone re-signs Tiger Woods, bolsters tour staff with key additions

Andrew Redington
Equipment manufacturers typically announce new tour staff additions in January when deals become officially official. In the last few years several also have made a point to reveal when existing staffers stay put, confirming contract extensions. And when Tiger Woods plays your golf ball, it’s worth letting people know he still views your product as the best option for his game.
So it was that Bridgestone announced on Monday that Woods was one of several who re-upped with the brand for 2025. Long-time staffers Matt Kuchar, Fred Couples and Boo Weekley, along with 2023 signing Chris Gotterup, also came to terms on extensions that will see them continue to play a Tour B ball. (Gotterup's deal includes playing Bridgestone's forged 221 CB irons.)
While Woods has been on staff with Bridgestone since 2016, his Nike golf balls dating back to the early 2000s were also made by Bridgestone, something he confirmed in the latest contract announcement.
"Since the beginning, Bridgestone has continued to innovate and lead the golf ball category in terms of technology, performance and consistency,” Woods said in a release. “They are great at what they do, and I look forward to continuing to work with their R&D team to design industry-leading golf balls."
To bolster its current staff, Bridgestone inked PGA Tour winners Kurt Kitayama and Harry Hall for the current season. Both plan to play the Tour B X, but Kitayama's ball will have Bridgestone's Mindset visual technology on the cover.
The design on the side of the ball was created around three different circles that act like a stop light: Red helps the golfer stop and identify what needs to be calculated—things like distance and wind.

From there, the yellow circle is designed to help the golfer prepare for the shot by visualizing what needs to be accomplished. Once the golfer is fully engaged, the green circle gives them the permission to fully commit to the pre-shot work and execute.
Jason Day was the first to employ the visual technology and played a key role in bringing it to market. Couples, Gotterup and Weekley have also embraced Mindset since it was introduced.
“Building a tour team is part art and part science," said Bridgestone president Dan Murphy. "We crunch the data and study trends for each player but sometimes it comes down to instinct and judgment on who to recruit to Team Bridgestone. We believe we have the perfect mix of generational icons, proven winners, and up-and-comers. The sponsorship game has changed dramatically over the past few years as performance is more important than ever."